Marlins' big innings swamp Dodgers, 13-3

Dodgers starting pitcher Paul Maholm grabs his cap as he gets taken out in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game against the Marlins. Maholm gave up 11 hits and 10 runs - 5 earned - in 3 2/3 innings.ALEX GALLARDO, AP

One or the other was too much for the scoreboards at Dodger Stadium to handle. They – and the bullpen phone lines – malfunctioned during the Miami Marlins’ 13-3 thrashing of the Dodgers on Wednesday night.

The beatdown was so bad, a Marlins coach had to call the press box during the game to double-check how many runs his team had scored.

It was understandably hard to keep track. The Marlins had two six-run innings – second and fourth – with 13 hits (including three home runs) in the first four innings. At some point in that stretch, a Marlins hitter accidentally flung his bat into the stands. The fan who caught it could have used it go 3 for 5 against Dodgers pitching.

“After early – that’s the type of game you really just try to survive,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “You have a couple of these every year.”

The rout wasn’t all on Paul Maholm’s head. The left-hander did give up 10 runs on 11 hits – including home runs by Reed Johnson and Ed Lucas – while failing to make it through four innings in what could be his final start for a while. With two off days in the next five, Hyun-Jin Ryu could rejoin the rotation next week.

“We’ll see what happens with Hyun-Jin,” Mattingly said. “That’s the main focus on how we set up and go forward.”

If Maholm’s 5.40 ERA is a temporary blemish in the rotation, the poor defense that led to five unearned runs has the look of a season-long issue that won’t be going away any time soon.

An error by Dee Gordon in the second inning was the Dodgers’ 36th in 42 games (second only to the Cleveland Indians’ 37) and opened the door for the Marlins’ first big inning. But it wasn’t the Dodgers’ only bungled play in the inning.

Yasiel Puig overran a ball in right field. Carl Crawford turned the wrong way on a Giancarlo Stanton drive over his head. Maholm fielded a bunt near the third-base line and threw late to first base – then he and catcher A.J. Ellis left the plate uncovered so Stanton could score from second on the play.

“That’s part of the game. Dee makes that play almost all the time,” Maholm said. “It wasn’t anybody else’s fault but me. I was on the mound.

“If you’re not a strikeout guy and you’re trying to go for contact, it can snowball.”

The level of play in the second inning – plus the six-run cushion – must have made Marlins starter Anthony DeSclafani feel like he never left Double-A. The right-hander was promoted to start in place of the Marlins’ injured ace, Jose Fernandez, and wound up getting both his first major league win after going six innings but also his first major league hit, an RBI single off Brian Wilson.

That was the latest sour note in Wilson’s disappointing season. His velocity was down significantly in the inning. Mattingly admitted “we are concerned” about Wilson’s uneven performances and radar-gun readings though he accepts Wilson’s word that he is healthy.

“Willy’s a different cat. He seems to dial it up when he needs to,” Mattingly said. “He’s a high-adrenaline guy and when he doesn’t have it, it doesn’t seem like it (the ball) comes out the same.”

A rare highlight for the Dodgers was Puig’s RBI double in the fifth inning. That extended both his hitting streak to 14 games and RBI streak to six games.

But Mattingly struck an upbeat tone after the game despite the dismal end to a 3-4 homestand that dropped the Dodgers record at home to 9-13.

“I was actually a little disappointed with our play on that trip even though we went 5-4 … I didn’t like our energy,” said Mattingly, who called a team meeting to address that at the start of this homestand. “I thought the last five or six days it was our club again, honestly. … It felt more like our club.

“You sound crazy when you say something like that after you lose a game like this. But it felt more like our team last year more than it has at any time this year. Hopefully, we’re heading in the right direction.”

Dodgers starting pitcher Paul Maholm grabs his cap as he gets taken out in the fourth inning of Wednesday's game against the Marlins. Maholm gave up 11 hits and 10 runs - 5 earned - in 3 2/3 innings. ALEX GALLARDO, AP
The Marlins' Jeff Mathis hits a three-run home run in the fourth inning against the Dodgers. STEPHEN DUNN, GETTY IMAGES
Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez turns a double play over the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton with second baseman Dee Gordon watching during the fist inning. ALEX GALLARDO, AP
Dodgers starting pitcher Paul Maholm flips the ball as he waits to be relieved in the fourth inning. STEPHEN DUNN, GETTY IMAGES

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